Friday, May 30, 2008

As students of a premier institute like this one, we are all looking at our life 5 years hence, where-in we will have great paying jobs, lovely home, blissfull life.. etc etc etc. And I am sure that all of that will be true, for everyone.....But before that we still have to meet our fate accompli... and the going in the next two years will be grueling, and a constant feeling that will accompany us at all times is a feeling of getting badly screwed.. I put this in such harsh words because there will be no escape, and prisoners will not be taken...

A small indication in that regard has already been sent to us in the form of PFC and E-course, tests are on their way even before we have started with the school.... life is about to see some real turmoil..

However, there is no glory in going down without a fight...

I finish this thought on a note.. Gold gets its sheen only when it gets burnt.... on that note i go back to my books.... wishing everyone all the best...

The season has started and it has started with a speed more than that of a Ferrari on a F1 circuit and believe me I am not trying to exaggerate. Many of us got a mail last nite at about 11 (just imagine what a time to get a mail from a teacher) about the e learning module. It had a surprise for all of us, now we are going to have 3 online discussions followed by tests and all this even before getting to the campus. With PFC material still on its way, e learning module to be studied, the though of a test would have been the last thing. It doesn't end there, we are also going to get assignments and we will have to complete them in the given time.

I never had imagined that the preview will be like this, God knows what the movie will have for us. With just 16 days before we get to campus, many are still finishing their office work, some having final year exams, I have no idea how will people manage this surprise. Now it seems that what ever our seniors had said earlier about first year being very hectic was true and we will have to be on our toes every single day.But having said all that I think and I hope the excitement of being a part of such a good B school will take us all the way in doing the assignments, taking the tests and facing any other surprise from S P Jain.Vamos SPjites...!!!

Monday, May 26, 2008

I write this because it amazes me no limits, as to how a 150 people who have mostly never met each other before are today interacting and thriving as community online, and all this on the basis that they will be joining a business school in future..

One only needs to look at the Orkut community of this batch, and its easy to make out, that people know about each other's background, know their relationship status, know their weird habits, know about each others hobbies etc etc, and the list goes on. all on the basis of simple online networking.. So far i was a non believer in the power of social networking websites, thinking that they were a passing fad.. but the sheer quantum and quality of information, and the ability of this concept to unite seemingly unknown individuals has made me change that opinion.. Five years back when I entered college to graduate, yahoo group email was as far as social networking went. But, today the number of options available and the enthusiasm of people, make sure that people left behind feel that they should catch up...

Thanks to Google and the people there, to present something as simple yet as elegant as Orkut, and in it an idea that will take the concept of communication many places...

Keeping my fingers crossed and literally hope that the online camaraderie materializes itself in the real world as well...

P.S ...just wonder if the excitement of meeting everyone new in person, like the old days will still exist ??? comments welcome...

Hey guys....This is one crazy personality for you...as far as the zodiacs are concerned..i am a capricorn (3rd Jan). But you shall find lots of surprises in store. Im kinda impulsive, majorly adventurous and love making friends. Politics is something i loath, so stay away from it. Born and brought up in Calcutta, graduated from NIT Jaipur (one of the prettiest city in the country) and worked in Mumbai . Frankly im in love with mumbai as well. The attitude is just too awesome.Personal interests.. Dancing is my diehard passion. have done it all through my life hitherto. "Just play it on" attitude runs deep. Other interests include reading,swimming, music and watching sports and movies. Books.. read anything i get my hands on. latest was Chowringee, one of my better reads till date. Movies.. again open to all. Few favourites being pursuit of happiness (Will Smith rocks), life is beautiful, 300, Troy, Lord of the rings, etc.... the list goes on..Sports.. try my hands on all but man i goof it up completely. but watch them a lot. Im all the way for the reds.. ferrari and Man U. Tennis cals for nadal and sharapova. My memory ditches me quite a number of times and also get too lazy at times (Thanks to engg.). Im really excited to join the college..new life new people and of course the hostel life returns.. Hope excitement accompanies this journey.. Thats me folks.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Hello all,So..it all begins with the arrival of the PFC E-learn module..slowly but surely the journey starts. Am sure the next 2 years will be a magical and whirlwind ride..

about myself..a capricorn (jan 2nd) born and brought up in mumbai..seeing the sights, smells and sundry other things happening every second of the day (and night) here in mumbai for the past 24 years..have already done my bachelors in management studies from Jai Hind college in mumbai..so MBA was the best bet as a post graduate study option (figured no other field would take me :) )..work ex of arnd 2.5 years..want to specialise in finance..

i just love travelling..the best way to de stress..have been fortunate to vist some wonderful places so far.. believe India has all the possible places you would ever want to visit. some unknown and hidden gems which will surely make your jaw drop....developed an interest in photography (a possible side effect of my being bitten by the travel bug)..

love reading..books can possibly offer the best companionship (i.e. if you cant get through to any of your frnds)..a way to escape reality..count agatha christie, arthur hailey, john grisham, ken follet, erle stanley gardener, tintin, alistair maclean, malcolm gladwell amongst favourites..other interesting and wonderful books i have read include iaccoca, life of pi, to kill a mocking bird, the curious incident of the dog in the night time, three men in a boat, freakonomics, fooled by randomness and banker to the poor etc..

sports and movies - this is like the daily bread and butter..ardent cricket fan..(t-20 is good timepass but give me test match cricket any day)..tennis (sharpova and ivanovic :)) - roger federer is probably the best tennis player ever but i still like to support rafael nadal..soccer and arsenal football club..formula 1..like playing cricket, tt, chess, soccer and badminton..also love playing board games and cards..movies..well have a looong list of awesome movies..maybe someday later (thank god! - most of u might be saying)

finally an ardent quizzer..as u guys must havve guessed..i really have nothin to do these days hence this long blog..apologies for the same..

I got my first dope on CAT about 3 years ago. My friend and senior - lets just call her "so!" - gave me some gyaan: Don't join any class just write loads of tests. And I didn't join a class. And looking back it was a great idea! For most of my friends (who had joined classes) were finding novel ways of skipping class or trying to convince each other with stuff like 'progressions to aata hai yaar.... kal tenses ke liye jaayenge'. But the 'kal' never came. And they also had to deal with the guilt of paying 15 thousand bucks and not making the most of it!

A potent combination of laziness and procrastination meant that I wasn't writing too many tests. Actually, I wasn't writing any till the test series started. And IMS, TIME etc. didn't have test series beginning a year in advance..... so what could poor li'l me do about that!

Soon the CAT came along, screechin' et al (what with the newspapers going bonkers with all the hype and hoopla!), and before I could say MEOW it was over! This was followed by loads of feline analysis which put my score around 98. (In this respect TIME was the best - they predicted a couple of IIM calls for me :)) Hmmm.... that sounded high enough!

But along came "so!" and it was time for a reality check. SPJIMR was my best chance, so! she said ;) And for once I had the horse sense to fill up the SPJIMR form. Moral of the story: Don't join a class, write lots of tests and listen to your seniors ;)

Well, it seems that the MBA season has started with "e learning" modules and with the PFC materials being on their way. Yesterday we received the mails for e learning for Financial Accounting and now I guess is the time to set foot on the court. I havent opened the course yet, just took the pre assessment test, and to my surprise I was really terrible in it, despite being from commerce background. So I guess I will need to be more serious, which unfortunately I have never been in my life..:)

For engineers, I think the real fun begins now but I am sure they will do well (Just like Federer facing Nadal on a clay court). I had never thought that I will have to study before getting to Mumbai but as it seems now, all my plans have been washed away by SP Jain. I hope we have to study less when we go there cos we are already going to study now..haha...Ya but jokes apart I think its time to get serious ( for me this in itself is a joke) and I am sure many of us will get into that mode very soon.

So I take this opportunity to welcome everyone to the MBA season and wish them all the very best, rite from the "e learning" modules to the PFC test to the last test in SPJIMR in 2010...Enjoy the season...:)

Friday, May 23, 2008

I realised formal intros are much easier. Things like this are getting harder by the day!

I'm a typical Aries, which makes me quite impulsive and outspoken. I love dancing , cozying up in a corner with books (anything from Annie frank to Vikram Seth), hanging out with friends and getting drenched in the rain!

Did my schooling in DAV, Chennai, B.E EEE from SSN, Anna University(07 pass out) and gave up my job in CTS and worked as relationship manager with an educational organisation just so that i have something worthy to talk about in B school interviews. It paid of I guess!

I'm into marketing! I was actually like "only IIMS" and was even considering giving cat my third shot, but on seeing such an amazing peer group i guessed the experience at SPJ with you all is definitely more rewarding. Guess our batch profile is much much better than any of the IIMs!Hurray!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Hi people,This is Garima. Just finished my B.Tech from DA-IICT Gandhinagar. My major interests are singing and writing. Well, SPJ has been a dream come true and look forward to having a great experience in the next 2 years.Btw, ths blog is a great initiative. Way to go!:)

It was well before CAT exam that I had applied for SP Jain. Honestly speaking, I was so confident (rather over confident...why not..?, I had put in so much efforts and I believe the most in Hard work) that I would do well in CAT...and apart from IIMs I had applied only for MDI and SP Jain.I had really not made a sincere attempt to know more about SP Jain...only that it was among the top B schools, after IIMs...that is it......

Then, ..CAT happened and...I had not prepared for the worst....I dint have to wait for institutes to put answer keys on their website...I knew that the moment I stepped out of the examination hall...I had spent more than an hour for the Quant section...attempting only 4 questions...mind you, only “attempting” …

But, I had already got short listed for SP Jain (the first profile based list)...My interview was in January...It was almost 2 months since CAT, but as though fate had decided to test my emotional ability, the CAT results were out just 2 days before my interview....Now, XAT was my only hope and I had done fairly well, learning from my past mistakes...hmm..CAT mistakes...

The girl who had thought she was made for IIMs...now, was actually thinking...”Can I make it through SP Jain...Am I capable...?”...I had made all attempts to learn more about SP Jain…and the moment I got to know it is a Bhavan’s institute, I had this unstoppable urge to make it, to be there, to get through…I had grown up reading lots of books from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan…and to study there was like an undreamt dream ….But, I decided to be my own self, and prepared for the interview, and here again I put my best...brushed through some of my subjects...and I told myself...that I shall be myself....

I took the night flight from Bangalore along with Dad...It was the first time that I boarded a flight...but, I am not sure if I enjoyed it ..the way I had expected to enjoy my first flight..:-)....and as heard, the flight got delayed...and by the time we reached the hotel room, it was 1am....I lay on the bed… without sleep until ..what seemed like an eternity...but the fact that the alarm “WOKE” me up....means that I had actually slept,atleast I was convinced so, and that was enough..:-)

I just got ready..., read the Times of India...and..solved Sudoku...and really felt very confident...(Its always the small things that help you achieve big ones...:-)..)

Reached the campus at 8.50 (for the 10 am interview slot)...After, getting done with the document verification, I was called for the first round of Group interview..

2 Madams in the Panel and 5 of us on the other side of the table...

One mam bore such a benign smile on her face; it really put all of us at ease.

We were first asked to tell more about ourselves, our family...

I was the second one to answer...I started off...My father is an architect...

Mam: Can you tell me some buildings in Bangalore which he admires...?

My mind goes blank....(My God....all pictures...pictures of buildings float in front of my eyes....but then the name of none seems to appear...)...I say..."Mam..the TippuSultanPalace"... (The moment these words came out of my mouth, I wondered, How come, this building never came to my mind, why am I uttering these words...)..Even to this day I am unable to forgive myself for that....GOD, the Vidhana Soudha, the GKVK building, the Public Utility building,... These 23 years of my life, if there is something common to all these years, it is architecture, I have grown up hearing, seeing, feeling buildings, stones, cudappah, slabs, purlins, roof, concrete....and I felt ashamed to be an Architect's daughter..

All this probably happened in a span of seconds....but, it seemed to me like hours...

I thought it was all over....but..."Hard Work does Pay off"...and this fact got reiterated...:-)

Then came questions about my work ex, my profile, role, responsibilities, learnings....and I spoke about them..then it was books, my favourite books, Fountain head, Autobiography of Lee Iacoca,other hobbies, rupee appreciation.....and only when mam actually told me ...”You have a lot of energy in you”, did I realise that I was back to my own natural self...:-)

I got selected for the next round, and there again, it was mostly about general things, current events, the SEZ, the European Union, and some situation and my reaction towards it...and I did pretty ok expect for the European Union question, which I had no idea about, and I had actually said "Sorry sir, I dont know.."

Then was the 50 minute written test..which I enjoyed the most..:-)...

My return train journey gave me more than enough time to mull over the happenings....

Yet, human nature, even till the day before the results, this whole process would come to my mind, as if a film reel was being played, but, surprisingly it would last only for 2-3 min...(Hmm...I remember reading that human brain can actually process some 50 thoughts per minute...amazing speed...probably it is true.. :-)....)...

Phew!I finally got to this page thanks to Sumit, who patiently explained the process to me as I've never blogged before! Now that I've "arrived"....Hi everyone!I'm Nitika. I've just completed my BCOM from Symbiosis, Pune. I did my schooling from Sacred Heart, Church Park Chennai. After that, I decided I needed a change from the "overprotected" atmosphere. And so, I moved to Pune.The past three years have been some of the best years of my life. It's when I truly discovered myself. I have a passion for dance, music, writing,poetry, art and languages- in that order! And then, CAT/XAT happened. SPJAIN was the first call I got. It was a profile call.The rest is a blur. On April 10th, 2008, I got an email. And the rest is history!I'm in for Marketing @ SPJIMR.Looking forward to meeting you all!Cheers!

I never really thought i'd make it to sp jain, the reason .. very simple"I'am a fresher" , that's what my course director and all my cousins told me... "don 've hopes on it", so i didn't even bother to aplly till after giving CAT.

17th nov: Madam's 21 st birthday, she couln enjoy it with her friends nor could she be relaxed , but she watched a lot of Tv cause it happened to be the D day for the finalists of a reality show!! She wished her room mate , who also happened to be taking CAT a good night's sleep and settled down by her bed!! hours ticked away, not a minute of sleep, tension seemed to be groping up .Friends came in , tried to comfort her but no sign of improvement till around 3 am when the whole hostel was sleeping but for her!! no one knows when she dozed off but she woke up at 6 am sharp!!

18th nov: "Mom, i've never slept for less than 6 hours a day ?? how'll i write the exam ?? " .She knew no amount of screeching and screaming would help her out,it was a day she was looking forward to for close to two years then with so much of expectations from friends and well wishers.All seemed to be going well till about an hour before the exam when she began to solve the verbal section . Confusion everwhere :) She came back to hostel , not answering the phone calls of her friends who were competitors for the day.She kept on checking the website hoping that the cat would jump across to the right side of the wall!!

19th nov: The final examination of the 7th semester, not a word was read , but a lot of stories heard from friends around.That is what friends are for!!She left the exam hall in 2 hours , as she was leaving for her home , the very night and had loads to pack!!:)

post the 3 hectic days: Still glued to her computer , distressed at thinking what might happen , her mom gave her , her visa card asking her to apply to SP jain , comforting her that they accept XAT too. "How on earth do you expect to fetch yourself a call if the short listing was to be profile based , with no work expericence, you're kidding yourself", is what she thought, She wasn't even careful with what she filled, she was sure that she'd be rejected!!But they say all are destined to be what they are!! She began to believe in this after having received a call for the interview, but then she knew that 1 in 10 will 've the opportunity and that the others 'll ve to return empty handed!! The interviews went on well, she had a ray of hope , but she believes in preparing for the worst, and so she did !!Mid april , on the eve of her final project viva, she received a call from her mother that she'd made it to spjain ,she thanked her mother cause it was because of her that all had happened and yeah of course to the XAT scores :) !!This is my first lesson in life, Don' build castles in air, Allow things to happen as and when it happens,there's nothing wrong in planning, but don' expect things to go by your plans, believe in the "UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE" !!... to be contd.,

I am HarishSridharan. I've just completed my B.Tech from Vellore Institute of Technology. I will be joining the Marketing specialisation.About me there's really not much to say . I am a private person , kind of an introvert if you will. SP Jain was my first interview and I consider myself lucky to have got through .What else do I say about myself ( is it just me or are most people lost for words when it comes to introductions ) ? I love reading, read anything I can get my hands on ( that's one reason why I am really excited to go toMumbai, their second hand book markets are just superb) , love rock music and I am a devoted Arsenal fan.I am really freaked out about going to SP Jain, I mean 4 years of engineering college have made me one of the most laziest people on the planet ( I guess that's why B-Schools prefer guys with work ex) and the horror stories of the workload during an MBA are already giving me sleepless nights. Still cant wait to start college and I am really looking forward to meeting everyone else.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CAT Percentile - 97.6Calls - SP Jain (profile based) , MDI , IMT, SIBMConverts - SP JainBlog - http://allgunsblazin.blogspot.com

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

SPJain is located at Andheri(West) which gives everyone something to be happy about.

Cinema

3-4 multiplexes within 15 mins from SPJain. Good thing is that thursday being a holiday we can go for morning shows which means less kharcha. Anyway I am always in for Single screen theaters, so we can do some research on that later with interested fellows who think no movie deserves more than 50 Rs.

Theatre

Prithvi Theatre is very close to SPJain(walking distance some say), for people from Bangalore, its an equivalent of Rangashankara, for others its a theatre which has given lots of great actors to India and is a meeting point for the best in the business. Weekly plays and Theater Fests will keep us busy.

Food

Now we come to the point, so, apart from the pav combos(which includes vada-pav, misal-pav, anda-pav, samosa-pav, bhaaji-pav etc etc) mumbai also has a lot else to offer. Street Food to Tendulkar's restaurant to Parsi eatouts to Irani Restaurents, we will surely have a great time.

On Vada Pav's the one from near MithiBai is quite good, the bets in Mumbai they say, now for those who don't know Mithibai, its near Narsee Monjee, Vile Parle, some 15-20 mins from our place, lots of other reasons than vada-pav also to go there ;). On nightclubs and pubs I am not that knowledgeable, but have a few friends in Mumbai who are the perfect guides on this topic.

Sports

Andheri Sports Complex I hear is quite good, I remember that was the venue for Michael Jackson concert sometime in 90's when we were kids(we should have been scared Mr. Jackson then :P). Apart from that one of my friend gave quite a good feedback on that, lets hope it has a swimming pool :).

Padhai

All important, Padhai awaits us :), lots of it infact in the first year. Hope we get sometime in all that to cover the above points too.Will add up with few more things in another post later. (Upcoming items- More Food, Cultural Evenings, Bhavans)

p.s.- This information is based on author's personal experiences and narrations from his friends, almost everything of this is correct but if something is not, pardon me.

There seems to be some problem with the color of the poll options.. Actually it's a raised issue with this widget feature - you can't change its color. I am trying if there is some other way we can change it.. Please ignore the color for the time being.. Thank u all for pointing out.. :-)

And please in that feedback form, write your name as well even if you "hate" the design of the blog.. Things will be taken positively.. LOLs.!!!!

I am Abhishek from basically many places. I was born in MP, lived in Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Bengal and Karnataka. I have been working for the past two years with MindTree, Bangalore as a regular software fellow, although with lots of other things I did at MindTree.

Prior to that I did my BTech in ICT from DA-IICT, Gandhinagar, 4 years there were quite enjoyable and I hope it will be the same at SPJain.

I will be joining Marketing specialisation, opted for it as I thought it would suit me better than anything else, would be interested to explore avenues of Rural Marketing, Retail, Customer Relationship Management, PR and Branding.

My interests include blogging(read me at Switching Spaces) , cooking, cricket, TT, talking, food, reading, traveling and Cinema in no particular order, although food and talking does take a bit of preference :-).

I have a long list of nicknames which over the period of time have become so common in use that I have been quite oblivious to my real name Abhishek. Options available with you guys include,

Pattu- schooltime nickname with a long history behind it.

Desi- College time nickname, most commonly used, maybe sounds a bit you-know-what at times.

Desh- a sophisticated version of the above option

Abhi- nice and clean, ghar ka nickname :)

Daisy- a distortion of Desi, created by an Alcholated friend :) and so on...

Better give me a new one at SPJain... :)

Also looking forward to Hostel life again, and of course Mumbai in a big way, lets see what happens when we actually reach there.

Hi I am Deepak originally from the land of laloo ;) but was in a boarding school in Nainital right from the third standard, then did my twelfth in Delhi and have just finished my engineering from Chennai.

I never expected to make it through SPJIMR Mumbai but that doesn't matter now. By the way I am selected for finance specialization.

In my leisure time I enjoy watching movies and documentaries, blogging and also listening to music. Lately I am on a mission to reduce the diameter of my tummy :) My friends say I am an introvert but I don't think so.

I have no clue as to what is in store for me at SPJIMR. Just hoping that I don't have to study a lot. I am looking forward to interacting and sharing knowledge with you all.

I'm into Marketing @ SPJ ..i 've worked with C.S.C india on SAP ABAP for around 2 years.. yep its technical and i am an engineer again :) from BIT MESRA '06 batch with a BE in ECE.

Many of my friends , and till some time recently even i used to think that its almost impossible to get an interview call from SP Jain and then even more tough to finally convert it .. even after getting through im still not sure of what works for it and what will not .. hence i feel lucky to be in with u guys .. ! ;)

Im just looking forward for the MBA experience which i have been waiting for some time now .. and also the MUMBAI factor .. i've visited mumbai only twice ( once for the interview ) .

I just read an interesting snippet abt SP Jain - Mr Shreyans Prasad Jain that he belongs to the sahu jain community - owner of the Times group .. who have instituted the Jnanpeeth award , Bhartiya Jnanpeeth, and also various awards like the Miss India , Filmfare etc ...

I am really elated to see the excitement and enthusiasm with which we guys are participating in myriad of discussions on orkut and slowly on this blog as well. Sense of co-operations is just stunning. Just feels nice to see people clicking those radio buttons and check boxes in here and also writing away their thoughts to glory! Already feeling a sense of dejavu seeing people's percentiles in CAT in year X Y and Z and their interview experience in here or on their own blog, although its not very long ago when I was also juggling with this cruel game of numbers and the act of balancing them between different damn sections. But all that is history now. At least for all of us in all probability! What lies ahead promises to be a sweet (read sweat) challenge, a change in perspective (as one of the seniors at SP told me) and loads of fun. So till the time you set your foot beside the lake, let those joining thoughts and 'are you single?' comments pour in..

Well even before I get to S P Jain on 16th of the next month, I can say that I have already learned a number of things in the past 6 months or so. Perhaps the most important thing that I have learned or rather tried to learn is have patience. First it was the wait for the results, then for final selections and believe it or not, now when I am finally going there the wait for that is also very difficult. I just cant describe how I am spending my days, except for the IPL matches.

After some flak from my mom I have actually started my preparation to get to SP Jain and I finally got my tickets booked for 16th. Now I guess I will have to get my formal clothes, I really cant recall when was the last time I was actually dressed in formals, except for the GDPIs..Then I will have to get all the documents attested from my college, get the provisional letter from college (thanks to Calcutta university I wont have my final results till mid July).

But it really feels good from inside that the day is coming and I will finally enter SP Jain as a student of that place. And yes, for all those who have claimed in earlier posts that they are lazy and that they need a lot of sleep, be prepared to face tough competition from me in that area atleast. Well I can see that although its been a week since this blog was posted there isnt much posting going around, I guess people are busy with their final works. Anyways Niraj has done a good job by editing the layout. I cant think of what else I can write now, so I will be back after some time...

Monday, May 19, 2008

Hi batchmates,I am Manoj , friends call me “yum” , joining Finance.I am from different parts of the country thanks to Dad’s frequent transfers.I completed my Engineering from BITS- Pilani , and have been working with GE Research , Bangalore for a li’l over two years .My hobbies include Music(All kinds) , Movies, Dramatics, MIME etc. I have been part of many Drama and Mime clubs.I like to watch and follow various sports but have not played any of ‘em lately.I have been to Bombay just once, for SP’s interviews, stayed there for two full days. I liked the city and specially SP’s locality and the campus ..found it very peaceful and serene.Campus buildings seem to be pretty old and reminded me of my engg College .. I think there are few other colleges as well in the same campus.Well ..i have no prior experience as far as Finance is concerned ..hope I will be able to cope up :)Since Dilli’s chances to get into Semis are feeble, I am all for Mumbai Indians now. :)Looking forward to seeing you guys soon.

I really can't believe that we're actually going to be in SPJain in less than a month!! Really looking forward to it, but at the same time, pretty scared too..

I was actually born in Bombay, but I've lived in Pune for most of my life. I've just finished my final year BCom. Did my 12th in Science and got a lot of flak for switching to commerce after that, inspite of doing very well. Anyway, I'm glad I made the switch! Hmmm... what else.. I've played quite a bit of hockey in school.. I enjoy all sports, but mostly too lazy to play. Love listening to music of course.. hiphop, soft rock, R&B.. Though I have to confess my favourite is retro - rock'n'roll, swing, jive etc. And I used to absolutely love to jive, but that's somehow dwindled over the past year.. hope it's just a passing phase!I've been part of a youth group for the past 4 years, learned a lot and had fun in the process.. Worked part time as a teacher for almost 2 years. I managed to be pretty patient with my kids.. but I still lose my temper at home every other day.. That's all I can think of now, my mind is drawing a blank..

Sunday, May 18, 2008

This is karthikeyan selected for operations.My home town is near Coimbatore.I have done my B.E marine eng from SVCE chennai.I have been working in merchant navy and I got opportunity to visit more than 40 countries in a span of 4 years.I have visited most of the coastal European and American countries.I could realise the difference between the developed and the so called developing countries apparently.I feel India is the right place to for me to live . No one can describe the feeling when you land in your motherland.

Two important turning points in my career.First one to choose marine engineering after my +2 after scoring very good marks .Second one decided to give cat 2007 and getting selected in SPJAIN.I never expected this or even dreamt of me getting into a top bschool because during cat 2006 I was relaxing in the Caribbean Islands.Now I'm happy that my decision to give cat2007 has paid off.

Decent cat percentile and extra curriculars,very good acads (univ rank 2),excellent interviews ,work exp must have sailed me through to this level.Happy as well as anxious to meet all the elite minds at one place soon.I'm nervous once I think of Acads again and the rigorous life for 2 years ahead and it is also exciting , when I think the transformation the institution is going to bring in our lives.I wish everyone makes the best use of the opportunity and enjoy the learning.I hope our batch contributes the best to the legacy of the institute.

I guess all of us are having an overdose of introductions. So trying to sum up what we are going through right now in this post

It is 18 May today. Less than a month is left for us to join SPJIMR. I'm sure that all of us are feeling nervous about what will be in store for us. At the same time, all of us are eagerly looking forward to joining. For my part, in spite of my nervousness, I just can't wait to join SP.

Most people who get into SP have prior work experience. This is true for even our batch. Of the 72 people who have voted in the Orkut community, only 15 are freshers. I guess the work-ex people are enjoying their last few days in office before they get back to studies. As for freshers like me, they are getting bored sitting at home and doing nothing.

In a couple of days time, we will be getting our Pre-Foundation Course (PFC) material. It is a 30 hours course which we will have study on our own. Last year it consisted of 4 subjects viz. micro-economics, financial accounting, quantitative techniques and Introduction to IT. There will be a test within a couple of days of our joining and we will have to pass this test to continue with the program.

The institute is currently finalizing the bulk deals for laptops. Last year Toshiba Laptops (Satellite Pro) were offered and I think it was good. Don't know what's in store for us this time around.

I guess that will be all from my end. More when we get the laptop deals and PFC materials.

Introducing myself very late though I was the first to be invited into this blog.

I'm Shankha from Jamshedpur. I've done my B.Tech.(IT) from Inst. of Tech and Marine Engg. Kolkata. I've been quite good at extracurricular activities having represented my school at International level and winning at national level in essay writing, creative writing, quizzes, dramatics etc. I'll be joining S.P. Jain in Marketing specialization.

Getting into SP was more of a luck than something I was looking forward to. It was May 2007 and I had got 2 very good job offers from Infosys and Wipro. As all of us know, once you are placed, studies take a backseat. So, I decided, why not take a shot at CAT. I would be taking the exam afetr 2 years anyway.

I joined IMS test series as I thought that since I wasn't very serious, wasting money in classroom program would be stupidity. I applied at SP only because a family friend insisted that I do. The outcome of both CAT and SP was something which I'd never dreamt of.

So, hoping to have a great time at SP for the next 2 years with you guys.

This is Mohit Raisinghani or simply mo! ;) I’ve just finished my engineering (ECE) from VNIT, Nagpur. I organized and participated in loads of extra curriculars and basically had a ball of a time!

I’ve been born and brought up in Bombay and I’m very happy to be in Bombay for the next two years! I am a foodie and I can absolutely devour sweets. I like trying out new dishes and restaurants. I like clicking pictures and I also write a bit. I tried making a short film but it didn’t turn out to be too good J. And filhaal I’m sitting idle and trying my hand at photoshop! Hopefully, I’ll get the PFC stuff soon and I reckon that should keep me busy ;)

I have a thing for ads – won a few ad events at the IITs. And now that I’m into marketing at SP Jain, well, lets see where that takes me!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Friends, going thru this post, I might look like am a very arrogant person , overconfident and one who loves to show off ;) but please trust me all that I say is truth and only the truth and I am not what this post gives me an image of.... Satyameva Jayathe ;)

I am just gonna tell you what fate is and explain it with my interview in SP .. Take a deep breath , its a long post :)

Was in the third list of SP jain finance , wasn't that bad in acads , extra curriculars moderate.A totally irrelevant experience(software ) for a finance course was the reason my friend in SP jain gave me for me not being selected earlier.

Had got an admit in FMS(MS) before SP interview and was 100% sure of XLRI(pmir) convert after an awesome interview(yah !! I did convert it) . This was my mindset when SP called me for the interview. A bit of anger on SP for not selecting me in 2 lists plus the confidence of a convert made me bossy ;)

Told my friends would not attend SP interview and "AM" rejecting it. Thanks to an advice from one of SPjites(my classmate in NITT) , who asked me to just give a try , told me its a very good college for finance. So I thought I shud juz attend it for the heck of it and then join FMS(paid my fee and now gonna withdraw ;)

Arrogance from my side : Didn't book my ticket as long as two days before I had to leave. So juz casually got a train ticket at last. Interview was at 10 am ( 9 was reporting time). My train was supposed to reach dadar at 7:30 am and as fate decided it reached @ 8:30 . My second trip to Mumbai made me tremble a bit , not coz I might not get into SP but thinking of frustration that I had travelled so long and may be they wud not even gimme a chance to attend the interview. Caught hold of a localite in Dadar who thankfully accompanied me till Andheri and guess what time was nine ;)

I was stinking and badly needed to take a shower but its time. Called up one of my friend who studies there and fate god blessed me when he said he is in chennai. But somehow he managed to find one of his friend who did his summers there (Krishna) and he escorted me to his hostel and I took a quick shower . No breakfast (my only sacrifice ;) and as u would expect it was close to 10 so rushed to SP jain telling him that I will meet him next year (Confidence !! No it wasn't , just a banal statement everyone makes)

Reached there at 10, people were ready for interview after registration. So me too went through the rigamorale and proceeded for interview. Awesome first interview followed by a very decent second interview guess saw me thru :)

Now all said and done, I suddenly started liking SPJ , dunno what but felt like I should study there. Was waitlisted . Oh No !! Not again , so close and yet appeared like its so far and finally the call !!! And I made my decision. SP here I come :)

From the point where I was thinking that I dont want to attend this interview , make the worst ever preparation a person can for an interview to a convert felt very sweet but I completely admit I was really foolish. But isn't that what people term FATE :)

Apart from this I work as a Listed Derivatives Sales Trader at Deutsche Bank, having three years work ex in the investment banking industry, working out of Mumbai.

My life revolves around the Stock Markets, books (Fiction or non fiction), Wikipedia and Google, CHELSEA Football Club, Cricket, Gaming, running on the tread mill and eating to maintain the weight loss :-), and of course travelling 2 hours each day to and from the office, in Mumbai.

Four years after having graduated from Sydenham College, Mumbai, as a Bachelor of Management Studies, it feels almost ecstatic to be going back to college.

Ok types when it comes to studies, however surprisingly topped my college on two occasions :-)

Eagerly waiting to meet all, and working along to make these two years the most memorable ones...

Hi everybodyThis is Harsh from Hyderabad.. been with Accenture here for the past one year..Belong to Indore.. did my B.Tech from NIT, Bhopal ,class of 2007.Support Chelsea FC.. like public speaking a lot.. was the official anchor for the college.. Literary Secy too..love learnin new languages.. already know quite a bito' bangla, and litl bito' assamese and telugu as well..wht else.. like music.. pinkfloyd and eagles among the favs..m joinin Fin.. was a gud student in school but 4 yrs in an NIT hv spoiled me.. he he.. dunno how i'l study so many subjects.. even i'v been scared by all the fin.. ca.. cfa.. autumns.. stuffIn any case... one thing's for sure.. its gonna be 2 yrs of coleg and hostel life again.. !!waitin eagerly 2 meet u all..

First call of the season, first interview of the season and finally first convert of the season as well. This is my S P Jain Time line.

I was so surprised with the call because I always thought they wouldn’t call me as I had no extra curriculum activities in my profile, but I guess they liked my academics.I was so excited that I booked my interview slot even without thinking anything and then came a shock. I booked interview on 30th January and my brother’s marriage was scheduled for 29th January. But then, what has to happen always happens.Due to some unfortunate incident the marriage got postponed and I didn’t miss anything.Ok...enough of preview now let me get to the D Day...

I reached Mumbai on 30th January at about 12.30 a.m thanks to air congestion my flight was very late. Then reached my brother’s place in about 30 mins, slept around 2 am and was supposed to wake up at 8am but as usual I overslept. Got up at 9, and then lazy myself as usual wasted time and by the time I realized I was getting late I didn’t have time even for a shower...Rushed out at 10.45 and reached the campus at about 11.10.

But as soon as I reached there it all changed, the atmosphere there was so good that I lost all my tension and nervousness. My interview was scheduled at 12 pm but I was allotted the group later and so it started some time later. All the time there in the waiting room I was talking to someone or the other, also met a friend whom I knew through PG.I must admit there came a time when I thought that I was at the wrong place because everyone I talked with had some national or international achievement and me nothing..:)

Now the first round of the interview was pretty relaxed and simple, no stress nothing. But there were a couple of people in my group who took most of the airtime, sorry Ronan, but then they deserved that airtime. It lasted for about 45 odd mins. It felt good after the interview and as it turned out 3 out of the 6 people in that group had a final convert as well, Prateek, Ronan and yours truly.

Then we had that psychometric test which was all fun. The only thing was that the entire procedure was taking a lot of time and I started to get bored after some time and by the time I was in the room for the second round, believe it or not I was actually feeling sleepy...lazy me.

But the second round was also good and this time also one guy took a lot of airtime but with him I had a feeling that he was screwing up himself and I think he finally did that. Just for the record I don’t know whether he made it or not because I don’t remember his name. I dint speak much during the second round, answered the only technical question that I was asked correctly (Thank GOD), and believe it or not I had studied that very question in the morning also (Thank you Srimani sir for teaching me AS 28)But then I didn’t feel that great after the second round, don’t know why. Then finally the self test, and my GOD that was some test, I mean after a few questions I didn’t know what to write. But finished it some how in the given time and when I saw my watch it was 6.30 pm and I was really tired but relieved at the same time as well. It was time to walk out of the campus.

All in all I must say it was a wonderful experience and I really enjoyed it, specially now when I have it made it there..:)Also Thanks to all the seniors who made the process so cool and calm, I never felt that I had come for such an important interview.

Friday, May 16, 2008

This is Harini , just out of college having completed my EEE from Government College of Technology ,coimbatore. My nativity is Chennai and 'll be into marketing!!I love dancing , that is my hobby, my passion and everything.. yeah not my living though!!Someone who cant live without atleast 7 hours of sleep a day.. am i in the wrong place now????Someone, who doesn really slog and is least bothered about examinations... but then don' ask me how 'm i gonna survive the next two years!! i'll 've to wait and see...I believe that anything which is done passionately with immense interest and enthusiasm requires very little effort.."Happy workers get rewarded more"!!!I'll be interested in anything and everythin.. but that enticement is generally shortlived!! ;)I'm seriously looking forward for the next two years..hope it's fun filled and enjoyable !! yeah it would be :)

Guys,Chandrasekar here , did my B.tech from Nit Trichy - Batch of 2005 and have been working in oracle (Hyderabad) for the past three years. Gonna study finance in SP for next 2 years.

Interested in playing volleyball , cricket and badminton and am quite good at them. People say I do sing decently , thanks to my music classes at the age when I wore shorts to school. Sleeping is what I love.

I fumbled a bit before posting this post of mine....cause this is the first time that I am blogging...:-)...and a really great beginning....:-)

I am Maya from Bangalore. ..born, brought up and was working in Bangalore...I have done my IEM (Industrial Engineering and Management), passed out in 2006. Then, joined TVS Motors, later went on to join IBM and currently unemployed...;-)As for my hobbies, I love playing Sudoku and reading books-Fiction and Autobiographies. And, I have this great passion for music....but that ends there..:-(...The guitar post on the community in Orkut was like a ray of hope...and all of you Music teachers there, be ready to handle a tough student, given my minimal, rather no knowledge of Music...:-).I would be joining the Operations stream....and Am looking forward to a fruitful and fun filled learning journey at SP Jain...:-)

Thursday, May 15, 2008

I am Monik J.Gangar. I have settled in Chennai for the past 22 years. I am basically from Mumbai. I did my B.E in EIE from St.Joseph's College of Engineering. Then, I have been workingwith EDS for the past 19 months. We are a family of four.. Dad doing his business, Mom a home maker and sis pursuing her B.D.S . My hobbies are gaming and riding my bike. I have made it to one of the most premier B-skool in India and I am really proud of it. Proud to be a SPjite!!!!!

First of all, thanks to Sumit for taking this initiative. :)I am Niraj Kumar. I have been born and brought up in Bokaro Steel City Jharkhand, but have been in South India for around 8 years now, first 4 years in NIT Trichy and last 4 in IT Industry (2 years each in Infosys and Qwest). I hope our journey through SPJIMR will be transformational, if not path breaking. Lets make this blog a great place to visit!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Well finally the blog for us is up and running..I guess it would be better if each one of us gave a small introduction about himself/herself under this label. So I take the first oppurtunity here. Well I am a B.com student from St. Xavier's Kolkata, joining in for Finance specialisation. I am also 67% CA and hopefully will be a CS this june.Just for the record, I am very sure that I am going to turn out to be the youngest in the batch..and when I say youngest I mean young by some distance.....Cheers